Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

From Drilled: The Carbon Gold Rush

We usually bring you failures of the past, but today we're sharing an episode from someone who uncovers failures as they happen. Amy Westervelt is an award-winning investigative climate journalist and the host of Drilled, a true-crime climate change podcast exposing how corporate corruption and political operatives built decades of climate denial and delay. Each season unravels new evidence of deception, disinformation, and the power structures keeping real climate solutions out of reach. Drilled's latest season, Carbon Cowboys, examines a group of people who've turned climate policy into a profit engine. In September 2025, a group of Brazilian government ministers flew to North Dakota to watch a presentation on a new type of clean energy project, one that promised to help them deliver Brazilian President Lula’s dream of turning Brazil into “the Saudi Arabia of sustainable aviation fuels.” It was the latest in a string of projects from Midwest Republican kingmaker and corn ethanol magnate Bruce Rastetter, whose investments in Brazil might just transform him into a global carbon czar, even as his Summit pipeline carbon project faces fierce opposition from Iowa to North Dakota. Here's episode 1 of Drilled: Carbon Cowboys. Find Drilled wherever you get podcasts and hear episodes early and ad-free with a Pushkin+ subscription. Sign up on the Drilled show page [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/drilled/id1439735906] on Apple Podcasts or at pushkin.fm/plus [https://www.pushkin.fm/join-pushkin]. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Angels, Gold and Lust: John Dee and the Philosopher's Stone (Part 2)

Part Two: When Tudor polymath John Dee meets a man who claims he can speak with angels, his path to understanding the universe suddenly becomes clear. At their instruction, the pair begin searching for the fabled philosopher's stone. But the angels grow increasingly demanding, and soon Dee must confront a terrible ultimatum. Centuries later, a strange incident in a French town suggests that angels may still be with us. For a list of sources, see the show notes at timharford.com [https://timharford.com/] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

The Queen's Astrologer: The Price of Prophecy (Part 1)

In Tudor England, the line between mathematics and the mystic arts is vanishingly thin. Straddling both worlds is John Dee, a brilliant scholar and astrologer whose intellect grants him access to the highest circles of power. Dee navigates the politics of the court by making bold prophecies, which win him royal favour. But even correct predictions may come with a price - and laying claim to the future is a dangerous game.  For a list of sources, see the show notes at timharford.com [https://timharford.com/] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Beware Tech Tycoons with Piranha Tanks - with Katie Prescott

Mike Lynch was often lauded as Britain's answer to Bill Gates. Born into a working-class family, Lynch's incredible intellect and passion for computers led him to become a billionaire tech entrepreneur. But behind the scenes, Lynch was a bully who couldn't bear criticism and was prone to creative accounting. When computer giant Hewlett Packard bought his company, Autonomy, it triggered one of the biggest fraud scandals in Silicon Valley history. Tim talks to Katie Prescott, Technology Business Editor at The Times and author of the book The Curious Case of Mike Lynch [https://www.porchlightbooks.com/products/curious-case-of-mike-lynch-katie-prescott-9781035074235], about the lessons we can take from a story no one could have predicted. For a list of sources see timharford.com [https://timharford.com/] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Finding Grace in a Burger Bun: An Incrediburgible Quest

Dick and Mac are content with their lives: they enjoy making burgers by day and stargazing by night. Ray Kroc is a workaholic chasing success at any cost. When the brothers' relaxed approach to business collides with Kroc's ruthless ambition it will birth one of the world's best-known brands. This is the story of two very different approaches to making hamburgers - and two very different approaches to making money. For a full list of sources, see the show notes at timharford.com [https://timharford.com/] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.